Bret and Aston at the Brickworks in Chico, 2003

"I was chosen for this role. The whole thing was destiny for that yes," admitted Aston "Family Man" Barrett, bass player and band leader of The Wailers. "Many are called but few are chosen. I humbly accepted because thy will must be done."

The roots of that stoic response reach as far back as Barrett's early teens when he was affected by the riddim and became aware of his Rastafarian heritage and life's purpose as keeper of the music; keeper of the family.

"That is why I labeled myself 'Family Man,'" explained Barrett. "The family lives together, works together, eats together and the man in charge is the 'Family Man.' He keeps the family together; he keeps the music together."

Along with his late brother Carlton Barrett, who was murdered in 1986, the two were known as the hardest-hitting rhythm section in reggae. Their original band was known as The Hippy Boys in '65 and recorded for many of the era's top reggae producers. Then, after finding comfort with the smooth stylings of legendary reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, whose own nickname was "The Upsetter," Aston renamed his band The Upsetters when they became exclusively Perry's studio band. And, it was only after Perry had taken The Upsetters on an unprecedented appearance on the Top Of The Pops show in England that they were summoned by Bob Marley to back his newly-formed vocal harmony trio known as The Wailers (Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer). The Upsetters backed The Wailers until the very early '70's when the vocal trio split, leaving Marley with the backing band. On the very next tour they hit the road as Bob Marley and The Wailers, led by band leader Barrett. So when Marley passed, many thought that The Wailers were done.

"We always keep it going no matter what the crisis," declared Barrett about carrying on after Marley. "From Bob's time and even before—even beyond—I have been the band leader. I am the one who first took Bob out on the road. I took him out of the ghetto and the local part of the Jamaican music industry and enabled him to become international as his musical arranger, producer, co-writer and writer and band leader. So even from before Bob, we always knew to keep it going no matter what the crisis. Bob himself say that 'When one door is closed, many more are opened.' And we have been going through those doors ever since. You have to remember, all Bob Marley music is our music and we are the only band that does the entire Bob Marley and The Wailers catalogue year in and year out. Not even the Marleys do that."

Barrett was indeed clear at an early age about his purpose to spread the message of love, consciousness and righteousness through the use of the rhythm 'no matter what the crisis.' Consequently, despite the fact that, yes, Marley was vital in making reggae what it is today, it was Family Man's vision of the bigger picture, of spreading the word and preparing the way for the return of Jah, that has shepherded not only The Wailers' career, but the existence of reggae music. This mission-of-the-message is bigger than the death of Marley; bigger than the death of his brother and it is of crucial importance for humankind to heed this message now and in the very near future.

"It's all about preparing for the return of the Almighty," expounded Barrett. "The bad people got to go away so that the good shall stand. That is why it is so vital as we change from this century to the next. You see, it is only the Western calendar that says that it is the year 2000. The Rastafarian calendar say that it is only 1993, so we have seven years to go. So they (the West, a.k.a. Babylon) were worried about the Y2K bug. But there was no bug. Everybody prepared for this and are not prepared for the return of The Almighty. Now they think that the big problems are over and come the time for the real year 2000 (in seven years), they are going to get careless and are going to get caught off guard."

Barrett's beliefs, entrenched firmly in the Rastafarian interpretation of The Bible, are that it is going to be in the very near future that humanity will see not only great spiritual changes but other physical Earth changes as well. And like any good mystic, Barrett won't say exactly what will happen but just that something definitely is going to happen. But when prodded about the ever-growing world population and all of its ramifications like global warming, he hinted thusly:

"In the Old Book (The Bible) it is written that your seed must spread over the Earth like the sun upon the seashore," paraphrased Barrett from the sacred text. "If you do the right thing, the land will grow when the people multiply. But instead we are taking a lot of resources out of the Earth, polluting it, and making a lot of explosions, polluting the air and losing ways to keep track of nature recycling itself. Then there is the theory that the world will come to an end, the world that they created on top of the Earth. That will come to an end. But the Earth shall forever remain. And it is the meek, and the humble that inherit her. The Earth will rebel, and when it does, no man will be able to stop it. And there is no sign that Man will stop digging the Earth and taking the aluminum, taking the oil and all the things that are here in certain places to keep the Earth in perfect balance."

It is true that there are many books on the market today that have documented an increase in our planet's rotation, implying that it is out of balance because volumes of fresh water are spewing into the salty oceans, redistributing the Earth's weight and slowly changing the ocean currents. Pure scientific inevitability has it that this will eventually affect our weather patterns for the worse. Our society is not doing the right things and as sea levels rise, the land is disappearing.

"All these things are on Earth for a reason," said Barrett. "But the people changed the purpose of what these things are here for. They ban some of them and make some of them illegal like the knowledge of the herb. There are so many things that you can make with the herb that are better for the environment; clothes, shoes, hats, bags and even oil from the seeds. If the oils from the herb seeds were used in engines the exhaust would actually be good for the environment. You would never pollute that way."

So why then, can't, or won't, humankind turn things around when it comes to the health of mother Earth?

"Of course you have the good, the bad and the indifferent out there," said Barrett. "The positive and the negative have to work together. The Bible say that the weeds and the thorns have to grow up together with the rest of the harvest and leave the rest to the power of The Almighty. That is why I always pray for wisdom, knowledge and overstanding. When you understand something you believe in it. But when you overstand something you know it. That is overstanding."

Almost shaman-like in his duties and mission, Barrett is the keeper of the riddim and does, at times, still feel the 'vibes flowing into me from heaven,' as he channels higher spirits through him for the higher purpose of teaching the message through music. His knowledge of ancient history and time-proven methods of using rhythm to open the mind and heart combine to truly earn Barrett his Family Man moniker.

Also adding to the take-care-of-everything father-figure that Barrett is, is the fact that, like any good father; like any good shaman, he has taken the necessary steps to bridge the gap between the seemingly non-real, ethereal worlds of music and mysticism and the all-too-real, concrete and physical business world. He has had to adopt a business mentality in order for him and the family to survive. To ensure that the music is taken care of, Barrett has launched his own record label and recording studio (A.F.M.B. Records and A.F.M.B. Recording Studios, respectively) so as to enable him to better oversee his many projects. He is arguably the best bass player in the world whose own production skills might even outrank his bass playing, if that's possible. Barrett's eclectic musical production credits include Africa reggae star Alpha Blondie, the Brazilian Gilberto Gil, blues legend Taj Mahal, British soul singer Joe Cocker and the late great folk hero John Denver.

"I and The Wailers helped John out with one track," recalled the gentle patriarch. "John wanted to get in the world's game and the song he wrote sounded so much like reggae that he wanted to get the best, The Wailers. The song is called "The World's Game" and it is on the album called It's About Time. He kept singing 'Youuuuu and meeeee/ youuuuu and meeeee' and I showed him to sing 'Iiiiii and Iiiiiiiii/ Iiiiiii and Iiiiiiii.' He say, 'What is I and I?' and I tell him that it is like 'you and me.' In that respect I helped co-write that song. But it was The Wailers who played the instruments and I produced it."

Sprinkled throughout world music history over the last thirty years are many such appearances on other artists' albums as musician, arranger or producer. But this is all just part of the mission; part of the message, to not only spread as much positivity and love as possible but to help others spread it too. He has produced albums or singles for the likes of Burning Spear, Jimmy Cliff, Sly and Robbie of Black Uhuru fame, Garnett Silk, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs and Toots and The Maytals among a horde of others. Reggae music simply would not be the same without the ever-nurturing presence of the Family Man.

"Like Bob say, 'Life is a big road with lots of signs.'" He giggled to himself and paused to let what he said sink in, as he did many times throughout our talk.

It seems so simple: just read the signs and you'll be O.K. Yet the powers that be are still speeding towards this planet's critical mass as if there is no hope. But there is hope. A hope tied to the riddim; tied to the music.

"You got to remember that the riddim is the message," reminded Barrett. "It is timeless and ever-flowing. Use it to unlock your soul."

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